Marriage is an almost universal act.
It is the coming together of two people to share their lives in an official way.
In many countries, it has a religious connection.
It is one of the oldest ceremonies remaining in most cultures.
Most countries and religions set a minimum age for marriage.
This will vary from country to country.
In the UK, for example, a couple may marry at 16 years old.
If a marriage is to be dissolved, we call this divorce.
Some religions do not permit divorce.
In the 20th century, some people decided to live together without getting married.
This can be called common-law marriage.
Most people do this because they want a trial marriage before the real thing.
It was thought that it was easier than going through divorce if the relationship didn’t work.
However, the law in many countries considers this, and after a few years of living together, similar laws to divorce apply.
So, marriage is still popular even though common-law marriage is still tried first, as people may eventually marry anyway.

 

[tctab]参考译文
[/tctab]Section 31 Marriage三十一　婚姻

1.Marriage is an almost universal act. 婚姻是一种普遍性的人类活动。

2.It is the coming together of two people to share their lives in an official way. 它是两个人走到一起，共同合法地生活。

3.In many countries, it has a religious connection. 在许多国家，婚姻与宗教有关。

4.It is one of the oldest ceremonies remaining in most cultures. 在许多文化国度里，它是保存至今最古老的仪式之一。

5.Most countries and religions set a minimum age for marriage. 许多国家和宗教规定了结婚的最小年龄。

6.This will vary from country to country. 这会因国家的不同而有差异。

7.In the UK, for example, a couple may marry at 16 years old. 以英国为例，一致通过夫妇可以在16岁结婚。

8.If a marriage is to be dissolved, we call this divorce. 如果一段婚姻破裂了，我们可以称之为“离婚”。

9.Some religions do not permit divorce. 有些宗教不允许离婚。

10.In the 20th century, some people decided to live together without getting married. 20世纪，有些人决定同居而不结婚。

11.This can be called common-law marriage. 这被称为“事实婚姻”。

12.Most people do this because they want a trial marriage before the real thing. 许多人这么做是因为他们想在真正的婚姻之前先“试婚”。

13.It was thought that it was easier than going through divorce if the relationship didn’t work. 他们认为，如果两人相处不来，这样分手比通过离婚方式容易一些。

14.However, the law in many countries considers this, and after a few years of living together, similar laws to divorce apply. 许多国家的法律也考虑到这一点，如果两人住在一起多年了，分手则采用类似离婚的法律。

15.So, marriage is still popular even though common-law marriage is still tried first, as people may eventually marry anyway.但是尽管有人尝试“事实婚姻”，最终的人不是占多数。